Link
Link is the main protagonist of the The Legend of Zelda series. He is usually depicted as a courageous young boy or teenager in Hero's Clothes who leaves his home and any relatives to pursue his destiny: fighting the evil forces threatening the land. Over the course of his adventure, Link defeats legions of evil monsters, explores vasts lands, helps anyone he meets struggling, navigates deadly dungeons, and collects mythical items while pursuing his quest for justice and peace. In the end, he gains the power needed to vanquish his main enemy and becomes a legendary hero. He is considered an iconic character in video gaming and the very symbol of the Zelda franchise, and remains one of the most popular video game protagonists. Link's physical characteristics fluctuate from game to game, though he usually has light-colored hair (ranging from brown to blonde to orange), blue eyes, and a medium build. Other characters sometimes think of him as handsome. It is unlikely that Link's age exceeds nineteen years at any point in the series thus far. In many installments of the series, Link is the bearer of the Triforce of Courage. Several games mention a Mark of a Hero on Link's left hand, which identifies him either as a chosen hero or the holder of the Triforce of Courage. Interestingly, Link bears a resemblance to Peter Pan, as they are both elf-like, wear green clothing, fight with swords, and are sometimes accompanied by a Fairy. Link also fights his shadow in some games, either Dark Link or Shadow Link, just like Peter. Surprisingly though, Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Legend of Zelda series, has stated that he used Peter Pan as a bit of an inspiration for Link's design in The Legend of Zelda. Personality A peculiarity of Link, as well as other characters, is the several different incarnations of the person throughout the Legend of Zelda series. He is implied to be somewhat sleepy or lazy at first since at some point near the beginning of every game except the first two, he is sleeping or dozing off. Since Link does not usually speak, his personality is mainly determined by his actions or others' comments about him. He generally appears to have the basic characteristics mostly found in a heroic character; bravery, selflessness, compassion, wisdom, and kindness. These characteristics (along with his purity) allow him to wield the full Triforce in some of the games without a problem. Abilities In each of his adventures, Link grows to become proficient with the sword, his primary form of attack. He wields his sword in his left hand in most games (though there are exceptions). The Master Sword, a legendary blade that Link wields throughout several adventures, has become as synonymous with the series as Link himself. Link is also remarkably proficient with a wide variety of magical musical instruments, being able to use them immediately upon obtaining them. This also extends to his other items and weapons in the series. In some of his adventures, Link is shown to have some degree of aptitude with hand-to-hand combat (such as sumo wrestling Gorons in Twilight Princess) as well as a degree of superhuman strength (lifting heavy looking objects and beings such as Koloktos's cutlass in Skyward Sword); however, he is generally portrayed as completely defenseless without a sword or other weapon, as shown in Wind Waker: when he loses his sword in the Forsaken Fortress, he must rely on stealth and enemies' weapons to make it through, and if he is spotted, he surrenders without putting up a fight. This can be explained by the fact that the Link in Wind Waker (as well as some other incarnations of him) was a small child, whereas the ones in The Adventure of Link, Ocarina Of Time (in the latter half of the story), Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword are already in their teenage years and thus more powerful and skilled than their preteen counterparts. Some incarnations of Link can also use magic, as the one in The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time have shown. Category:Characters